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Tuesday, December 27, 2011

New Releases:Caustic - Justin Beaber's Never Say Never
Label: Self Released
Released: 12/20 2011
Genre: Industrial
Caustic gave away this free digital remix EP on his website. It's... a remix EP. Nothing massively interesting here, but it does include his awesome cover of Oxyacetalene. Beyond that, good for completionists.

Adding To The Collection:The Black Angels - Phosphene Dream
Label: Blue Horizon
Released: 2010
Genre: Psychedelic Rock
More from the Black Angels this week. This second album isn't nearly the tribute to Vietnam that their debut album was. Still, they still have the late 60s down pat. The whole album reverbs around, sticking firmly to the rock and roll genre without wavering or faltering. An excellent piece of rock, but nothing really sticks out above the others. It's just a solid offering all around with no hidden gems, but no clunkers either. Overall, definitely the better of the two albums, a little more experience show through here.

Nero - Welcome Reality
Label: Cherry Tree / Interscope Records
Released: 2011
Genre: Dubstep
From early 2011 before Skrillex's manic style took over. This feels more like the electro combination of Daft Punk and any standard House beats. The female vocals reach back and pull up a lesson from 1990s Trip Hop as well, effortlessly mixing all the styles into a dubstep sound. For all that, it's good in a generic 'toss it in the mix' kind of way. Doomsday is a bit of a heavy bass track, after that though it all kind of mixes together into something good but not great. It will be interesting to see their second album in the future, hopefully they get more adventurous and expand on the sound while keeping the trip-hop style vocals present.

Tabla Beat Science - Live In San Fransisco At Stern Grove
Label: Axiom Records
Released: 2002
Genre: House, Indian Traditional
This one I love, the first half is almost nothing but traditional sounds, tabla and vocals take up most of it. Very little of the Indian House you expect from some of the players here is evident - Karsh Kale, DJ Disk and Midival Punditz leave it very light. Karsh plays all percussion here, none of his normal house stuff. The second half takes off with a lot of house, scratch, and more DJ influence, in a very nice mix. I don't even know where one track ends and another starts, and don't need to. It all blends so well as a live set that it might as well be a continuous mix album. This album is worth tracking down just for the performances on the tabla alone, really excellent live set.

Fabric Live 37 - Caspa & Rusko
Label: Fabric
Released: 2007
Genre: Dubstep, Electro
Speaking of Continuous mixes, this a joint effort from Dubstep DJs Rusko and Caspa, just shy of thirty tracks of dubstep-house-dub continuous mixing. They range all over the dubstep spectrum from the 2007 era - which is less frantic and more paced. You can definitely hear the dub underpinnings in the heavily altered beats. This is the genre in its most pure and raw form, while it's still very underground, pulling from as many influences as it can. One of the better DJ mixes I own honestly, in any style of electronica. If you're trying to get into Dubstep, or just want an above average dubstep mix, find this and add it to your collection.

Bonus EPThe Crüxshadows - Christmas songs
Label: Self Released
For Christmas Rogue released three songs for download, one track celebrating his recently born daughter, and two more holiday songs of a more traditional bent. All three are good darkwave/goth takes on the holiday, very good slightly down tempo holiday songs to mix up the constant high pitched bells everyone else uses. A nice little present for the season.

Next week - Scottish Folk, Ambient, Arabic, and some modern Jazz from Japan, plus a surprise or two...

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Running a little late in the day... this week I take a look at the weird collaboration between Lou Reed and Metallica, a late 00s band that sounds like a late 60s band, some dubstep, and future jazz.

New Releases:Knife Party - 100% No Modern Talking
Label: Earstorm
Released: 12/12 2011
Genre: dubstep; electro-house
A digital only released I picked up off Beatport, a nice little electro-house/dubstep 4-track EP. Internet Friends is very house, a little spastic, and for a dance tune like this also funny. Destroy Them With Lazers continues the mayhem of the first track, less heavy house-bass kick and more dubstep drop and lots of electro thrown in to keep it up in the air. Track 3 is kind of dull by comparison, sort of plods on with the electro. Fire Hive, the final track, though is nearly pure dubstep madness, not as frantic as some releases lately, but still very energetic.

Adding To The Collection:Lou Reed + Metallica - Lulu
Label: Warner Bros.
Released: 11/1 2011
Genre: Metal; rock
This collaboration seems almost natural, like it should have happened years ago. Actually, it probably should have because this effort is a little weird. Not particularly musically challenging. Lou nearly speaks all the lines, like poetry instead of singing a song. Metallica, for their part, pretty much jams some banging tunes through out the whole thing. Some decent editing probably could have cut this monster down to one disc, instead of two. A seventy minute listen is all this needs, not a near ninety minute epic. It's just not That interesting. Though there are some really good songs on it. Pumping Blood and Little Dog are downright catchy, Mistress Dread is nice and dark. Overall though, you have to be a big fan of both artists to want this.

The Black Angels - Passover
Label: Light In The Attic
Released: 2006
Genre: Psychadelic Rock
The Black Angels have done something a lot of bands have tried to do since the 60s ended - recapture that rock sound it had so clearly created. Fuzzy guitars, blues rhythms, medium tempo, updeat and downbeat both, rock that sounded like it was trying to find itself. They also, in the process, created a very odd little Vietnam/Anti-War album that would also fit right into the late 1960s. They don't sound like a band trying to recreate the sound, they sound like a band playing the sound. All very dirty, bluesy, rock and roll. The one irony is the hidden track - a Jimmy Cliff cover of his song 'Vietnam' with new lyrics for the Iraq War, and it's just awful. It's a terrible modern rendition lacking all of Jimmy Cliff's timbre and style. It's also the only non-rock track, all acoustic. They should stick to the rock, because they're very good at it.

Dzihan And Kamien - Gran Riserva
Label: Six Degrees
Released: 2002
Genre: Future Jazz, House
Dzihan and Kamien are two artists that push electronic music really as far as they can by not being artists who create electronic music. This release is heavily jazz influenced, almost to the point of being a standard jazz record. But just enough other elements sneak in, other little bits and aspects from house and trip-hop, to keep it in a 'future jazz' style. Something different, something really good came out of the recording sessions for this. It's mellow, without being light, it's trip-hop without letting the beats take over. It's all amazing, but mostly background music, not dance music. Every time I find a D&K album I'm not quite sure what to expect, but every time I'm pleasantly surprised by it. Definitely worth tracking down if you have any interest in jazz that isn't quite jazz anymore.

Next week, more psychadelic rock, dubstep, house, and industrial. Until then, Listen Hard!

Sunday, December 18, 2011

This morning I finally finished out the 30th Anniversary Bad Religion Box Set and converted the last two albums to digital - News Maps Of Hell and The Dissent Of Man; and I found an old Front 242 single hanging out in my vinyl crate.

Bad Religion - New Maps Of Hell
Label: Epitaph
Released: 2008
Genre: Punk
New Maps Of Hell was one of those albums I saw come out, but I wasn't really paying attention to Bad Religion at the time, I still hadn't gotten back into them after Process Of Belief. Given the excellence of this album I should have. It's quick, tight, and fast. This is the kind of Bad Religion album I really enjoy, it isn't overly preachy in the message (which is still their standard issue commentary on society). The songs themselves are precise, but not over produced. No one song really sticks out above the others here, though. If I had to pick out a single I don't think I could. Everything is good, just above average in my ear, not an album I'd skip around on. Definitely worth picking up and adding to your punk rock collection. Also, it's catchy, I just bounce right along to the rhythms here.

Bad Religion - The Dissent Of Man
Label: Epitaph
Released: 2010
Genre: Punk
This came out at the same time as the 30th Anniversary Box Set, and is exactly when I decided to jump back into picking up Bad Religion albums off the strength of the track Wrong Way Kids. It's an excellent song, but is the best cut on the album. It's not quite the same over-produced mess as Process Of Belief (can you tell, I wasn't particularly thrilled with that album?), but it's also not quite the quick, masterful speed of New Maps Of Hell. They backed off the accelerator just a little, but still produced one good album. The B-Side wasn't nearly as good as the A-Side though, all the really good stuff is on the front half of the album. A good solid release, here's to hoping we get more like this in the future.

Front 242 - Headhunter
Label: Wax Trax!
Released: 1988
Genre: Industrial/EBM
Front 242 are the original EBM group (they even invented the term). And when Headhunter hit American clubs in the late 80s it dropped like a fucking bomb. Everyone, even people who really weren't into the Indutrial scene, loved it. And not some watered down DJ Mix, the original F242 mixes. This single contained the seminal song, plus the B-Side of "Welcome To Paradise" which contained clips from preacher Farrell Griswold, set to a moderately harsh percussion background. Not quite fully danceable as Headhunter, still, a popular track. This one is old school EBM and Industrial from before they introduced guitars into the scene. Both tracks are on Front By Front, as the single here is long out of print, form WaxTrax! before TVT had to step in and buy them up.

Next Sunday is Christmas, though I'll probably be here listening to some records from my collection and getting out a post before family takes over the day. Probably find a few short records to digitize.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

This week a new Black Keys album lifts off with a solid rock sound to it, Korn mixes it up with a Metal-Dubstep collaboration album, I find an odd Dubstep compilation, and add some Psychobilly to the holiday music scene that is usually mind numblingly bad.

New Releases:The Black Keys - El Camino
Label: Nonesuch
Released: 12/6 2011
Genre: Rock, Blues
Teaming up with producer Danger Mouse for this release, The Black Keys take their drum + guitar show and rock it out a little bit. With a sound that reminds me a little bit of the production quality on Danger Mouse's side project Broken Bells, but giving it a little more bluesy feel. The whole deal is very stripped down, understated, but with a big loud sound. There's a lot of rock and roll fun behind this album, very upbeat in a lot of parts. But the crowning gem on this one goes to Little Black Submarines, which starts off acoustic, before blaring on some heavy guitar and rhythm. I'm not sure I can actually explain the emotional connection I had with this song, but it's sad, longing, uplifting, and majestic all at once. The whole album is a good listen, enough variety in the songs to prevent them from sounding too similar, without gettign too far away from each other either.

Korn - The Path Of Totality
Label: Roadrunner Records
Released: 12/6 2011
Genre: Metal, Dubstep
For their latest effort Korn has decided to take a step a little further from traditional rock/metal albums by finding and working with a whole series of dubstep producers. It works amazingly well. The fuzzier heavy dubstep fits in nearly perfectly with heavy metal guitars and speed. Like most Korn albums I don't find all of it particularly good all the way through, bits and pieces at a time. There's always a few standout tracks though, Narcissistic Cannibal and Get Up! are two awesome songs. Overall the back half the album is much better than the front half. The Special Edition of the release has two bonus tracks and a DVD with the video Encounter, which is a live-shoot done in a crop circle, a sort of video best of. Dubstep producers that worked with then are Downlink, Kill The Noise, Skrillex, Noisia, Dastik, Excision, 12th Planet, and Feed Me.

Adding To The Collection:Dubstep Madness
Label: Hypnotic Records
Released: 2011
Genre: Dubstep
Not sure where to really begin with this one. It's a two-disc set, almost all of it falling inbetween the older lighter stuff and the new heavier style. It also has a bunch of weird covers and remixes on it. About a third of it are original productions, all of which are excellent. The rest are some really good and some really odd choices to dubstep. By far the more interesting are Riders On The Storm (which is also the best cover of the song I've ever heard, replacing Jim with female vocals), Pass The Dutchie (which doesn't get all that far from its roots), Ice Ice Baby, Don't Stop The Rock, and Ghost Town. Thirty two tracks of decent dubstep, but nothing is particularly experimental, this whole thing is middle of the road filler for the most part.

Psychobilly Christmas
Label: Cleopatra Records
Released: 2008
Genre: Psychobilly
This one opens with a nice instrumental rendition of We Three Kings by The Reverend Horton Heat. After that, it goes off in a whole bunch of directions, all of which touch on holiday themes, but are decidedly not "traditional" holiday or christmas music. No one would play this in a mall, unfortunately. All of it great Pyschobilly in its own right, now with a Christmas theme. I Saw Mama Kissing Santa Claus goes from silly little ditty to excellent song with the addition of an upright bass. You're A Mean One Mr. Grinch gets a needed rock infusion. Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer likewise transforms from holiday cheese to an actual rocker. On more original somes I'm Getting Pissed For Christmas and Gunslingin' Santa are just the right touch to take the edge off family gatherings. There are nineteen tracks on here, all of which are a switft kick in the backend, unlike most "rock'n christmas" style songs or albums these really pour on the rock, hard.

Bonus Track:The Razor Skyline - The Longest Night
I don't know when this was first released by the band, but it's been arounda few years. It feels like it might be a traditional christmas song, with a darkwave/goth rendition, but I'm pretty sure it isn't. A good little number to have in the holiday rotation to keep it all from being dull ballads and 'classics'. Released free to the public via Vampire Freaks.

Next Week:
I finally get to the Lou Reed and Metallica collaboration, some future jazz, some heavy blues-rock, and more dubstep, and maybe a little Moombahton thrown in the mix... maybe. Listen Hard!

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Sunday morning, let's get some of the vinyl in my collection into iTunes. This morning two more albums from the Bad Religion Box Set - we're into the period where I really go into them, so it skips over some releases as I go through this. And a Gothic Rock single I found crate digging one weekend. Punk and Gothic Rock share a history, so it's content appropriate.

Fields Of The Nephilim - For Her Light Two
Label: Beggars Banquet
Released: 1990
Genre: Gothic Rock
This is the second part of a 2-part single on 12", the CD had all four tracks. Fields is classic old school Gothic Rock. Lasting from the mid 80s to the early 90s, a short run but no uncommon in the goth-rock scene. High guitars, deeper vocals, rock rhythms. Fields incorporated some psychedelic rock elements as well, which was unusual. This little two track single is pretty standard. A Side is exactly what you expect. The B-Side is an instrumental, very dark, ambient almost. The bass guitar carries the tune through with some percussion, a few other elements behind it, and some spoken word under it. The B-Side is definitely the more interesting the two tracks, the A-Side is a classic though.

Bad Religion - No Substance
Label: Epitaph Records
Released: 1998
Genre: Punk
The follow up album to The Gray Race, one of their best albums I think. This album wasn't as well received, but they continued to play around with their formula here, not just hashing out the same basic idea over and over. This one moves away from anti-government sentiment more prevalent earlier, and more onto the social themes always there. For that, the only three tracks that stand out on Side A are the title track, The Hippy Killers (about the post-hippy generation having to inherit what's left), Raise Your Voice! which is as much a call to arms for free thinking as any anthem can be. Side B opens with a volley of anti-religious sentiment. But moves onto the general social commentary of needing to not settle for less, and thinking for yourself. It's a good album, and should have done better than it did. Unfortunately it didn't produce any real "radio hits" for people to latch onto.

After this album is New America, which is rough and angry, but also not a great hit for them. New America would be their last release on Atlantic and end their association with "big record companies" through the 90s. After that was The Process Of Belief, which did produce more radio hits, and is an ok album, but it's anger seems buried in over production and I lost interest in them for a while, until very recently with the release of The Dissent Of Man, so I'll pick up again on vinyl with their 2000s releases going forward.

Bad Religion - The Empire Strikes First
Label: Epitaph
Released: 2004
Genre: Punk
This album picks up a lot from the previous one, faster, leaner, cleaner. Less production and more raw music to it. Like a lot of punk from the early 80s, this one is anti- almost everything even near the military-industrial complex. Side A is short and sweet, everything is fast, the songs range around the two-minute mark, only the last three are particularly long reaching three minutes. This is exactly the kind of album that needed to come out after Process Of Belief to bring them back down to a much more raw sound. Side B is longer songs, some of them sound like they're trying for a certain level of radio-friendliness but don't quite make it. Still good, still the faster, angrier, Bad Religion that feels like the 80s might be happening again in Punk Rock. Much better than the previous album, getting back to that sweet spot of really good music, angry riffs, and solid lyrical delivery.

Next Week - finally finishing off the Bad Religion box set with their latest two releases, and maybe find another record in my collection to add in.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

This week is light and heavy, not much rolling down the middle. Intros are boring, onto the music.

New Releases:
Jimmy Cliff - Sacred Fire EP
Label: Collective Sounds
Released: 11/29 2011
Genre: Reggae
Jimmy Cliff is a reggae legend, with about four decades of music behind him. This little EP is five tracks of mostly covers (the Black Friday Record Store 12" is 6 tracks on Vinyl). He covers The Clash with two versions of Guns Of Brixton, opening and closing the EP. The first one is a nearly straight up Reggae protest song, you'd almost never guess it was a Punk Rock song, but given Reggae's close association with early Punk music in the UK this is unsurprising. The second version has much more bassline to it, more drums, it's a little deeper, both versions are excellent. Jimmy has one original song on here, which is a nice little ballad. And he also covers a Bob Dylan song - I've always held that Dylan is not great as a performer but is one hell of a song writer, and I think this proves it, A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall is great as a reggae song. But my favorite track (the second track on the CD version of the EP) is Jimmy's cover of Ruby Soho (originally by Rancid). It turns a moderately sad broken-heart punk song into a full on classic, it's just beautiful (and again outlines just how close Punk and Reggae really are to each other). This is an awesome CD, even at only five tracks.

Dave Clarke - Fabric 60 DJ mix
Label: Fabric
Released: November 2011
Genre: House, Electro
Fabric is a nightclub in London, every month it puts out either a DJ Mix or a Live Mix. This month was a DJ Mix from Dave Clarke. It's heavy, bassy, with electro undercurrents, and absolutely not a standard House mix. Dave eschews standard dance-house rhythms and club-cuts in favor of a more driving style. The opening tracks lay down a deep, heavy, bass line than doesn't really let up until about a third of the way into the mix, where more electro, and even a few goth-rock elements take over and carry it through to the end. Overall, a good mix, better than most, and a different from just about anything else. If you want a less thumpy and more rhythmic house mix this is a good choice.

Adding To The Collection:
Chris Isaak - Baja Sessions
Label: Reprise
Released: 1996
Genre: Rock, Light Rock, Rockabilly
I am not a particularly big Chris Isaak fan, my wife is which is how this ended up in the collection. On the other hand I don't find him outright bad, he's very easy to listen to, has a good voice, and is generally good for a slow day. This album is very mellow, a little surf rock sneaks in, a lot of 1950s and 60s seems to sneak in too. This also has a cover of Only The Lonely - and I'm a huge Roy Orbison fan. For a moment when I first put this album on I almost thought Roy was singing the track, it took me a few seconds to realize that Chris has not only some good range, but can really do the song justice. I'd pick up this album for that cover song alone.

Sarah Brightman - Harem
Label: Angel
Released: 2003
Genre: Modern Classical, Rock
Sarah Brightman has a gorgeous voice, with amazing soaring ability to it (without getting into the ear splitting too high level). The music behind this album is fairly generic Arabian beats, nothing too clever was done on that front, the classical pieces behind it are likewise very good but also just background music. Sarah really is the primary instrument on this one, and I'm not actually sure I could pick out individual songs, but when I put it on to listen to the whole thing is just a delight. It's about an hour of audio enjoyment. The special edition version I have here has one bonus track and a DVD with some video footage - not actually adding a lot to the album honestly. It's near for collectors though.

Unwoman - Knowledge Scars
Label: self-released
Released: 2002
Genre: Industrial, Dark Ambient
This is Unwoman's first official full release from the early 2000s. It's very raw, not overly produced, and does not have a lot of clutter. The sound ranges from an industrial tone to what was a signature Goth/Darkwave sound from the late 1990s and early 2000s. The whole thing is structured nicely, and you can see that she has a lot of room to grow into. Her cello doesn't feature overly much on this one, it's just as much that as it is standard industrial/darkwave synths and drum machines. Overall, not a bad album to have on hand. The one track I'm on the fence about is Freedom From Religion - it's an early track to be sampling George Bush, but after nearly a decade of the industrial scene sampling his speeches and quotes it sounds dated, and a little tired. The song structures are light, not overly done, and feels a lot like a one-woman production from top to bottom.

Bonus Track:
Dire Disorder - Let's Get Naughty (Dire Disorder Remix)
Label: self-released (soundcloud)
Released: 2011
Genre: Moombahton
Dire Disorder takes Jessie And The Toy Boy's club track "Let's Get Naughty" and turns it into a full on slow heavy Moombahton track. This is all low bass, slow groove, kind of dancefloor hit. Pure fun, and extremely danceable. I love the low basslines and slower rhythms of Moombahton and this track delivers it excellently. Nice little cut from the clubs made even better.

Next Week - a Psychobilly Christmas Album, a 2-Disc Dubstep compilation with some really weird cover productions, and the new albums from Korn (mixing Dubstep and Metal) and The Black Keys (pure blues-rock awesomeness).

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Sunday morning, spent digitizing some records - another album out of the Bad Religion Box Set and a Dubstep 12" I picked up a while back.

Bad Religion - Stranger Than Fiction
Label: Epitaph Records
Released: 1994
Genre: Punk
Side A - This side is hit and miss, it feels very generic Bad Religion. But there are some tracks on here that get stuck in the head, the title track, and The Handshake both are excellent songs. Incomplete and Infected can both be left on the table, they just don't excite me much. Side B, now this side is much better I think, faster, a little more punch. Television opens the side up and reminds me immediately of the early 80s Hard Core scene. Marked and Slumber are both great tracks, and you can hear an evolution in the sound of Bad Religion here, they're moving away from the formula a little, expanding the riffs. And the last track 21st Century Digital Boy is awesome, really, could easily fit into a Bad Religion album another half a decade down the line without skipping a beat.

The album is a definite bridge between the 80s and 90s here, as punk rock takes back off in the 90s the next album from these guys is The Grey Race, one of my all time favorite albums out there. They're finally letting the guitars go further out from the basic riffs and rhythms they've been using for a decade or so. Late 90s Bad Religion is one of my preferred eras of listening to that.

Downlink - Biohazard / Vasik - Zombie Apocalypse
Label: Rottun Recordings
Released: 2011
Genre: Dubstep
This split 12" is a 2-track single. Biohazard is a fuzzy, dirty track. Good on the dancefloor, not quite a heavy pounder on the bassline, still it delivers with the drops and grinding bits. At over seven minutes, the opening is a little slow, it doesn't really get started until about a minute fifteen seconds in. Slow, methodical rhythms with synth breaks keep the song from becoming repetitive at least. It also exits slowly with synths repeating the outro until it just stops, not fades. The AA side is Zombie Apocalypse, which opens with the speech from Night Of The Living Dead, then some piano, then a slow dubstep fuzzy beat. This one plods along nicely, just like a zombie apocalypse, chasing you down until you just run out of energy and can't run anymore... scattered with zombie grunts and noises as well, which it could probably do without, but aren't completely out of place. These two are heavy bangers meant to keep a dancefloor at high energy, but they aren't so slow you lose energy, just enough in here to keep the floor going without wearing it out too quickly.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

There's a lot of music out there, so much that it's actually really difficult to get even a small portion of it. In my pursuit of listening I mostly like moving forward with new music, and I occasionally forget to go back and pick up some classics and other things I "should" own. Like Iggy Pop. So, sometimes I go back and correct an oversight - like this week.

New Releases:Caustic - White Knuckle Head Fuck
Label: Metropolis Records
Released: 11/23 2011
Genre: Industrial
The latest EP from Caustic, a digital only release, so you can find in on your favorite digital release store. Mostly remixes of the title track, some of which are good, some of which are, well - remixes. All told there are five remixes of WKHF, of those the Boole Mix is by far the most creative, making the track an throwback to 80s/90s EBM with pop-synths, almost a New Wave feel. If not for the lyrical content you could slot this right into a Wedding DJ list, actually... given the lytical content it probably should be. There's also a remix of Hiroshima Burn. But the real gem is the new track "Oontz Oontz Oontz Blarrrrrrrgh (Vomiting At 3AM Mix)" - quite the dancefloor bouncer (with some Douglas McCarthy influence), with lyrics that let us know just what it feels like to be around after the club shuts down but the floor still won't stand still.... If you're a Caustic fan this is pretty much a definite buy. If you're a Wedding DJ you'll want it for track 6, play it at the end of the night when everyone's too drunk to keep up with the beat changes.

Pop Will Eat Itself - Chaos & Mayhem
Label: Metropolis Records
Released: 11/23 2011
Genre: Industrial
The first single off the new album, a digital only 3-track release. The album version of the title track, and two remixes. This wasn't the most exciting song on the album, it's a pretty generic "rock and roll" kind of song, not bad, but not really A-Side material for a single in my opinion. The two remixes here are alright. A female vocalist, Snovonne, was brought in to rerecord the lyrics. It does improve the song a little, but the remix is low key, takes a lot of the rock-punch out of it, losing the guitars for synthesizers only was a mistake. The other remix isn't very exciting either, again losing the guitars in favor of more synth just takes all the rock out of the song. For a couple bucks it's not a bad buy, but it's not really that great either.

Adding To The Collection:Iggy And The Stooges - Raw Power
Label: Columbia Records / Legacy Records
Released: 1973
Genre: Puck, Rock
Punk may have exploded with violent execution in 1976, but a little before that it was slowly forming itself, crawling up out of the speakers. The Stooges were one of those bands that may have come off as Rock And Roll, but were definitely foreshadowing Punk. Raw Power is just that, raw and powerful. The mix is loud, the songs are louder. The opening track Search And Destroy sets the tone, and the album just keeps accelerating. It's a short record too, buy you can practically feel Punk looming over the music scene just waiting to kick it in the teeth. Almost fittingly, this was the last Stooges album (and the first credited as "Iggy And The Stooges" at that.

Iggy Pop - The Idiot
Label: Virgin Records
Released: 1977
Genre: Punk, Rock
Iggy's first full solo album, less raw, more rock, but still very punk in feel. The first two tracks 'Sister Midnight' and 'Nightclubbing' are practically anthems of the night scene. And while the later re-recording of China Girl by David Bowie is famous, the original here feels more alive. Given the whole album is a Bowie-Pop collaboration, it also fits better in this album than Bowie's later retake without Iggy. It's not a very hard or heavy album, almost early gothic rock in feel. Defnitely one to put on after dark, throw in some old Bauhaus and Banshees albums with it for a good ambience.

Iggy Pop - American Caesar
Label: Virgin Records
Released: 1993
Genre: Punk, Rock
Deep into Iggy's career, right at the resurgance of punk-rock in the US music scene, riding high on the previous albums success. American Caesar is a little louder, little more musically controlled, and sadly dumped in the "alt rock" bin.Wild America is by far the most famous track here, and with good reason - it rocks out. Though I like Plastic And Concrete just as much. And ther are a couple of weird tracks here: Jealousy is kind of rambling. His cover of Louie Louie is both hilarious with politcal jabs, and not really a cover so much as a complete re-write. The long rambling speach at the end with Caesar is also kind of weird, kind of interesting. Of all the Iggy albums, I'm not sure this one counts as essential, but it's certainly a really good rock album.

Next Week:
Jimmy Cliff does some covers, including a really sweet take on Ruby Soho; Sarah Brightman, Chris Isaak, Unwoman, and a DJ Mix from Dave Clarke. Modern Classical, Reggae, Rockabilly, Industrial, Electro-House... I love diversity.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Going to try an experiment, I still buy vinyl, new and old. Sunday mornings is usually a good time to try and convert it to digital for my library, as I almost always have plenty of time to myself.

So - Issue 1: Bad Religion;
Some time ago I picked up the Limited Edition Vinyl Box Set containing all 15 Bad Religion studio albums through "The Dissent Of Man" on red vinyl. It's pretty epic. Slowly I've been taking the albums I don't own on CD and digitizing them. So for the next few Sundays I'll be converting those and taking a listen here - as the process of Vinyl -> Digital is done in real time.

Generator

Label: Epitaph
Released: 1992
Genre: Punk
Out about the time of the early 90s punk revival/explosion deal. Business as usual for Bad Religion though. Side One is a pretty standard mix of social and political commentary, nothing here really stands out as a Great Song, just good solid writing of an expected nature. Side Two is pretty much the same, with the exception of Atomic Garden which stands out a little from the crowd in style and execution. I won't call this a boring album, it's just another face in the masses of punk rock honestly. There are better Bad Religion albums both before and after this one.

What's really missing from this album is the anger, indignation, and sense of injustice. It's there in the lyrics, but not in the execution. It's like they couldn't quite muster up enough energy to really get across the message in the lyrics without sounding detached from it.

Recipe For Hate
Label: Epitaph (on vinyl - Atlantic for CD/Cassette)
Released: 1993
Genre: Punk
Right off the bat this album has more energy than their last. You can tell they haven't quite stopped from the previous effort, building up steam and volume. Side One contains the single track American Jesus, which really does seethe. It's not shouting-angry kind of rage. This is a under-the-skin kind of anger that seeps through. The first four tracks, in fact, are excellent and feel both frustrated, and angry. Side Two, the first track is the other single from this album, slower, still carrying that quiet anger with it. Modern Day Catastrophists is probably my favorite track on this one, faster and leaner.

Overall, good album, This is about the point where Bad Religion really started to get my attention again after some hit or miss releases. They never were shouting-at-the-mic angry in their songs, Greg just isn't that kind of singer, but they do create a feeling of animosity towards things if you stop and listen. Recipe For Hate is the start of the era of Bad Religion I that I really think sees them climb to the top.

Next Weeks Vinyl - more Bad Religion and a Dubstep single I picked up a few months back. Listen Hard.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Late post, holiday week madness. The new releases on 11/15 actually sucked, so I went back to the beginning of the month and picked up Megadeth's latest, and loaded a whole bunch of Rough Guides in.

New Releases:Megadeth - Th1rt3en
Label: Roadrunner
Released: 11/1 2011
Genre: Metal
Titling your 13th studio album Th1rt3en is either clever or a sign that you just ran out of album names. Past that littel bit of absurdity though, this is a solid metal record. Not the pure speed of the early thrash stuff from the 80s, but also not the generally over worked stuff of the 90s. The band here is evolved, precise, still thrash and definitely awesome. There's nothing particularly suprising here, it's a Megadeth album and sounds like a Megadeth album through and through. Better than some of the stuff offered up in the first part of the 2000s though, this feels and sounds like a Megadeth from around the Rust In Peace era, just solid guitar word, Dave's snarl, and songs that linger about 30 seconds too long. If you're a long time fan, you'll probably like it, in fact I'm pretty sure you will - I certainly do. Not the best they've ever done, but certainly not the worst.

Adding To The CollectionRough Guide To The Music Of Scandanavia
Label: World Music Network
Released: 2000
Genre: Traditional (various nordic countries)
The collection takes from six countries, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, and Greenland, a wide collection of artists and bodies of work. This is one of Rough Guide's earliest offerings, and isn't very tightly focused, which is also why I like it so much. Nordic folk music has a certain quality of sound that I really enjoy and this collection of 22 tracks goes all over the place with that. From very traditional music to modern takes on traditional sounds. Lots of songs to dance to (assuming you don't mind the occasional polska), the fiddle is everywhere, and strong voices accompany most tracks. Some tracks are slower, some are faster. If there's a downside to the compilation it doesn't really flow within its own context, good for putting on a random selection though.

Rough Guide To Arabic Lounge w/ Bonus Album: Introducing Akim El Sikameya
Label: World Music Network
Released: 2010
Genre: Loung, Traditional
Of all the Rough Guides, the 'Lounge' ones tend to be my least favorite. Partly because I'm not a huge fan of loung-style music, laid back and non-intrusive without being good background music. Partly because it tends to not showcase traditional works enough, they're kind of an 'almost modern' take on regional sounds. This one, not really an exception to that. Falls lock step into light sounding almost elevator music. Nothing jumps out, nothing sits in the background as good audio-tapestry. It's just there. It's not bad, there are some really nice tracks on here, and it's very light music. But, it also doesn't really flow very well. It's an average collection of music that seems to be missing a few spices. Individually, mant of the artists put out works with more punch to them, though, and each artist here is a slightly different sound, not surprising since this spans both Arabia and Northern Africa. Which is possibly it's problem - the geography is too wide, it's not quite focused enough. The bonus album is nice, light and airy, good to put on with other albums of this style if you need to sustain a relaxed mood for a few hours.

Hidden TrackCelldweller - Metallica + Black Sabbath Mashup "Disposable War Pigs"
Label: self released (found on Dubstep.net)
Released: November 2011
Genre: Dubstep, Metal
Celldweller took Metallica's 'Disposable Heroes' and Black Sabbath's 'War Pigs' and smashed them together (with snippets of For Whom The Bell Tolls and Iron Man for added punch). None of the metal was removed, a lot of dubstep drops were infused. The two songs fit amazingly well together and this track is a monster, pure and simple. A heavy dancefloor banger full of crunchy bits to get down with. This song really needs to be played at high volume. Nice little gem to stumble across for sure.

Next Week: new singles from Caustic and Pop Will Eat Itself (the first single off their new album), both are digital only available from Metropolis Records. And a bunch of Iggy Pop (with and without the Stooges) albums to smash into your ears.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Late again, Tuesday's are just becoming far too busy for my own good. I think from now on I'll move the blog posts to the Day After New Release Day. That way I can even give a First Impression of the weeks new release... also, I got last weeks date wrong, go figure.

This week: I'm just all over the board - let's have some fun.

New Release:
Pop Will Eat Itself - New Noise Designed By A Sadist
Label: Metropolis Records
Released: 11/8 2011
Genre: Industrial
New PWEI album after about six years or so I think. PWEI has always been one those bands I'm a fan of, without actually bothering to get albums, oddly. So, new release and I fixed that - picking this one up digitally from the Metropolis online store (High Quality MP3s). It's an excellent album, an almost poppy-EBM Industrial album. Full of catchy hooks and extremely danceable rhythms. Top form, like they never went away, just kind of hid until they packed in some heavier beats to unleash on the masses. If you're a PWEI fan you'll want this, it feels old school without actually being tired or old. New dance/industrial/EBM fans will want it because it's just a good album over all.

Adding To The Collection:
Judas Priest - British Steel (30th Anniversary Remaster)
Label: Sony Music
Released: 2010
Genre: Heavy Metal
Judas Priest pretty much defined Heavy Metal in the early 1980s, and this is really the album that hailed in that era of pure metal. The two tracks everyone knows are Breaking The Law and Living After Midnight. However, and this partly why I waited so long to add the CD to my collection, I know pretty much every anthem on here by heart. I wore out my cassette sometime around 1992 and always said "I should get that again" - the 30th Anniversary comes with a cool bonus DVD of live footage. But it's the album, loud guitars and Rob Halferd standing out in front of this big metal sound giving us fist-in-the-air anthem after anthem. This remaster also comes with bonus tracks Red White & Blue and a live cut of Grinder. Just massive, don't wait as long as I did to put this back in your collection.

Neko Case & Her Boyfriends - Furnace Room Lullaby
Label: Bloodshot Records
Released: 2000
Genre: Country
Her second album, I found this little gem used in a tiny shop in Providence, Neko is an early look at country surviving the 1990s and become something decent again. Her voice is powerful, the music feels very raw. Slightly more polished than her first album, but still feeling like it should be listened to in a barn, or bar with straw on the floor. Sorrowful ballads and other offerings that don't feel like the same old same old radio country track. The only thing Country about Neko is her sound, everything else feels like punk rock.

Shonen Knife - Osaka Ramonse
Label: Good Charamel Records
Released: 11/1 2011
Genre: Punk
Shonen Knife formed in 1981, for their 30th anniversary they put together a full album of Ramones covers. Fitting since Naoko founded the band because of The Ramones, and they continued to be a heavy influence on SKs particular brand of pop-punk DIY throughout their career. There is no better fit for a Ramones cover album than Shonen Knife, there's no way this is a bad album. It's just pure delivery, no attempts to reinvent the songs. Shonen Knife picks and plays like you expect to hear a Ramones album: straight through, no filler, pure punk ethic. The songs, some of them, become even more absurd with a Japanese accent, and they all still rock. Absolutely everyone needs to own this album, punk fans doubly so.

Bonus Track
Kidneythieves - Lick U Clean (KMFDM Remix)
Label: none
Kidneythieves did an interview for Vampire Freaks online whatever, with it they released a free remix of Lick U Clean by KMFDM - along with the original - off the Trypt0fanatic album. The KMFDM remix is good, but not particularly mind bending, or overly interesting. KMFDM and/or Kidneythieves completists might want it, otherwise not all that worth hunting down (the full Trypt0fanatic album is however).

Next weeks new release actually goes back to the start of the month and I take a listen to the latest Megadeth album....

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

A little late this week, I got caught up in a bunch of stuff and had to make room for National Novel Writing Month. So, on with the show:

New Releases:Florence + The Machine - Ceremonials
Label: Universal Republic
Released: 11/2 2011
Genre: Rock
Florence has one of those really big voices without sounding screechy or loud. It's just a volume of melody. And this album is full of drums and percussion, and this piano that sounds like it was crossed with church-bells. The whole thing is big, and spacious, and just amazing. The two songs I just kept coming back to are Shake It Out and No Light, No Light. But there isn't a bad track on here truth be told. The album is a contender for best release of the year I think.

Adding To The Collection:Deadmau5 - Random Album Title
Label: Ultra Records
Released: 2008
Genre: House
A big, bouncy house album full of techno-bits and such. Actually... I found this album to be kind of boring. It's the kind of house I put on to sit firmly in the background and just provide the air with some rhythm to occupy my ears with. It's not bad, but, it's not great either. I'm not sure I could identify a single track off of this if it were played stand alone in a club. Except the repetitive first track, which comes off as annoying as I find "Around The World" by Daft Punk, which I also skip past.

HorrorPops - Kiss Kiss Kill Kill
Label: Hellcat Records
Released: 2008
Genre: Psychobilly
The HorrorPops have, in this short and sweet album, captured all that's fun about rock, punk, and rockabilly and mixed it liberally with oddly cheerful depictions of classic horror bits. The wonderfully upbeat Highway 55 about a girl buried off the side of the road, to the endearing Hitchcock Starlet. The top billing for rocking good time goes to Going To The Disco? and Missfit. But the title track steals the day, it's a perfect blend of all the elements. And Patricia's vocals are beautifully sung, never shouted.

The Rough Guide To The Music Of Mali
Label: World Music Network
Released: 2008
Genre: Traditional/Folk
This particular Rough Guide focuses on Mali and, while it's nice is, too low key. Either Mali produces a whole lot of slow, quiet music, or they just failed to find the upbeat stuff. It's not bad music, it's just very very mellow. The vocals stand out though, the singers found here all have amazing voices. Like any Rough Guide I recommend it as much for the cultural insight as for the musical interest.

Hidden Track:Proper Villains - Bass Down Low
Label: none (find it on Dubstep.net)
Released: 2011
Genre: Dubstep
Proper Villains took The Cataracts little bumper "Bass Down Low' and made it very dirty. Indeed. The good: they ditched the autotuned crap, kept Dev's lyrics, and added some real bass and real drop to it. Much better ditty than the original.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

This week is actually mostly compilations of traditional musics from around the globe, and some punk rock. Only the weeks new release is a regular album.

New Releases:
Tom Waits - Bad As Me
Label: Anti-
Released: 10/25 2011
Genre: Rock, Blues
Tom Waits constantly manages to both deliver exactly to expectations and something completely new. He veers recklessly between rock and blues for the most part, and this is no exception. Bad As Me is mostly a toned down rock/folk style album, with Tom's unique twist on it all. I picked up the deluxe Limited Edition version with comes in a tall form book, and a second disc of bonus material. The extra three tracks do not feel like tacked on b-sides either, but like a-sides that had to be left off for whatever reason. Good stuff all the way through, bouncing, and melancholy and all that in between. Tom hasn't missed a beat with this one, absolutely go find this and add it to your collection.

Adding To The Collection:
Give 'Em The Boot 5
Label: Hellcat Records
Released: 2006
Genre: Punk
The Give 'Em The Boot compilations are generally about twenty tracks of great punk-rock for five bucks. Mixing in all the flavors, from ska to psychobilly - and none of it slowing down and getting near emo. It's excellent stuff. This one is 18 tracks, with cuts from the Necromantix, Horrorpops, Dropkick Murphys, Aggrolites, Rancid, and a bunch of others. I love this compilations, partly because they're dirt cheap to pick up, and partly because sometimes you just don't know what to listen to and these always seem to fit the bill. Sadly, I think vol5 was the last in the series.

Think Global - Celebrate Africa!
Label: World Music Network
Released: 2009
Genre: Traditional
The Think Global series is put out by World Music Network as a way to raise funds for various charities, and is similar to their Rough Guide Series in that they focus on specific regions. Celebrate Africa! is from all over the continent and benfits Oxfam Activities. Fifteen tracks of some really gorgeous music whose only common link is that they all come from various parts of Africa. Unlike some of the Rough Guides that are more tightly focused, this one literally goes across the board in styles and traditional genres. A good way to get some variety of music, and a good way to help out a little bit.

The Rough Guide To The Best Music You've Never Heard
Label: World Music Network
Released: 2011
Genre: Traditional
This is the 2011 label compilation for WMN, and is the first year they've done a download only. I believe only subscribers actually got a printed case with a cardboard disc that has the download code, ordering directly from the website gets you only the files. Thirty tracks from mostly the Rough Guides they've put out in 2011, but a few tracks go back a little bit further if I remember right. If you're unsure of exactly which Rough Guide you want, the label compilations are an awesome way to get a little bit from each and then go from there. This music is from all over the world, and encompasses everything from ancient traditional musics to modern evolutions, and modern takes on older styles.

Bonus Tracks:
KMFDM - A Drug Against Wallstreet
Label: none
Released: October 2011
Genre: Industrial
This one is simply KMFDMs 'A Drug Against War' with new lyrics supporting the Occupy Wallstreet movement. It's a little inventive, kind of interesting, even more politically charged that KMFDM are normally. And it's free from their website.

KMFDM - Rebels In Kontrol (Occupy Wallstreet Mix)
Exactly the same as the previous track, a remix of Rebels In Kontrol for the Occupy Wallstreet movement. The lyrics are the same as the original song, but it's been remixed - slowed down a little. Otherwise, even for a free track, it's a little unspectacular and you can tell it was put together pretty quickly.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

New Releases:Kidneythieves - The Invisible Plan
Label: self released
Released: 10/18 2011
Genre: Industrial/Trip-Hop
The 5 Track EP is Kidneythieves in top form, always getting better. Pushing the trip-hop style from the 90s up a notch into something bigger and better. The first track, Never And Me, is on my I Can Put It On Repeat For Hours list of songs, it's just amazing, strikes a chord deep down. The kind of song that belongs on the Insomnia At 0300 playlist. The whole EP is good, it doesn't overburden itself with remixes, which is a nice change from the modern EP format. Instead it's five new tracks, all of them excellent material. If you pre-ordered then you also got the Acoustic version of Floating Angels. It's not quite industrial heavy, but feels like it could easily swing that way with the addition of some extra bassline.

Adding To The Collection

Army Of The Universe - Mother Ignorance
Label: Metropolis Records
Released: 2011
Genre: Industrial
Italian Industrial duo Army OT Universe come out with this debut album, and it really spins the genre around a little. A little more rock, and little less concerned with 'club hits' and definitely showing a lot of glam-rock through the heavy beats. With a better-than-the-original cover of Bjork's "Army Of Me" on it, the album never misses a beat, and keeps on rocking. These guys are going to do nothing but get better and better, their debut here kicks some serious ass.

16 Volt - Letdowncrush
Label: Re-Constriction Records/Cargo Music
Released: 1996
Genre: Industrial
Early 16 Volt seemed unencumbered, raw, and very guitar driven. Letdowncrush is a perfect example of 90s Industrial-Rock, and stands the test of time. It's a great piece of crunchy music, driving forward, and not getting caught on itself. It's not particularly hard, or heavy, very much teetering on the edge of Industrial and Gothic-Rock, either way it is a very cool album. With the exception of the final track that's noise behind the rantings of a radio caller, I really find it annoying when bands add five minutes of some strange person ranting on a radio talk-show/interview. Luckily it is last and easily skipped past.

Lemon Drop Kick - Lemon Drop Kick EP
Label: self-released
Released: 2011
Genre: Rock/J-Rock
LA Based Japanese/American rock band, this 4-track EP is their first offering up of a professional (or semi-professional) nature. I've seen them live and they put on one hell of a good show. On disc, though, they're simply pretty average rock, nothing bad, but nothing that really truly stands out above and beyond. Maybe I'll check back on their next release and see if they've acquired a sound that's less generic.

Rough Guide To Hungarian Gypsies
Label: World Music Network
Released: 2011
Genre: Gypsy/Folk
Another Rough Guide, another look at Gypsy music from Eastern Europe. The one thing I like about these Gypsy compilations is that it shows a massively varied selection of musical style in a relatively small area of the world, especially since they all tend to use the same or very similar instruments. I think this might be my favorite Gypsy compilation of all, it lets vocals shine a little more, feels a little more open, and whirling about. If you need a collection to start with for Gypsy musics, start here.

Bonus TracksKorn - Narcissistic Cannibal
Label: self-released
Released: October 2011
Genre: Dubstep
Korn offered up this free track from their upcoming album, and they have done nothing but gotten better over the past ten years. This little track they went way off their typical field and into the Dubstep arena, enlisting the help of Skrillex and Kill The Noise they produced a heavy, crunchy, guitar driven piece of dubstep madness. If this is a sign of their upcoming album I'm hooked.

Next week I cut back, and load up a small stack of compilations I've had lying around for a while now - world music, punk rock, and the new Tom Waits are all being loaded and listened to...

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

So, this week is actually three weeks worth of New Releases from my vacation and the week after it. Plus an album I helped the Kickstarter project for that was technically out in August digitally.

New Releases:

Angelspit - Hello My Name Is
Label: Metropolis Records
Released: 10/11 2011
Genre: Industrial, Electro
The latest full album from Angelspit, and their first album as a four piece band (five if you count the visual artist guy). They added drums and guitar to the mix to try and get a bigger sound, or a different sound. They thankfully didn't leave the roots that made me a huge fan too far behind, and they did greatly expand their overall sound quite a bit. Just an all around great album from the band, and nice to get a full album that isn't full of remixes. On the down side? They don't let that guitar come out and play enough. It's there, all killer riffs and such, but not big enough, it's still a bit in the background behind all the wonderful glitchy bits. I love guitar, and can think of no better way to spice up almost any kind of music, but this album needed a little more of it. Beyond that? Definitely should be on the Buy List for industrial fans.

Collide - Counting To Zero
Label: Noise Plus Music (Self Released)
Released: 10/4 2011
Genre: Darkwave
Collide always funds their albums through donor contributions, and this is one I was able to get in on and help out with, consequently I get a shout out in the big list of Thank You Names for the funding. Pretty cool. And the result is amazing. Collide is one of those bands that constantly refines their sound without redefining it. And this is an amazing result of about ten plus years of evolution and experience. It's an amazingly ethereal album, full of lush wonderful sounds, not particularly heavy. Quiet and Dark as only they know how to make it. Even non-Collide fans should add this to their collection. Probably one of the best non-label releases I've picked up this year.

Wayne Static - Pighammer
Label: Dirthouse Records (Self Released)
Released: 9/27 2011
Genre: Metal
Wayne put Static-X on hold to work on some solo stuff, and this is the result. What he did was manage to put out a Static-X album that sounds almost completely flat. I was really looking forward to this one, as I'm a big fan of Wayne and Static-X. But this, it's a little over-produced and under-performed. It's got all the elements of his past work, all the crazy vocals, the cool drum lines, and bad-ass guitar riffs. But it completely missing that something that made Static-X stand up and out. Unfortunately, it's just Wayne and I think what's missing is the dynamic interaction of a full band. Here's to hoping he puts Static-X back together, because their last release was amazing.

Unwoman - Unconvered
Label: Self Released (available on Bandcamp)
Released: 8/31 2011
Genre: Acoustic Rock/Goth
Unwoman is a cellist, having played with Rasputina among other acts. She is an amazing cellist, and a good vocalist. And like Collide, funds all her releases through fan donations, this one on Kickstarter, which I also helped with. I had to wait for the CD to arrive though, so it's a little late and the last of the New Releases. It's a collection of cover tunes, as the name implies, from 1980-1995. She covers Wham!, Madonna, Tori Amos, Cyndi Lauper (a great rendition of She-Bop), Real Life (a decent cover of Send Me An Angel), Sisters Of Mercy, Michael Jackson (a weird cover of Billie Jean), Nine Inch Nails (should have picked any song other than Hurt), Nick Cave (the only bad cover on here of Do You Love Me), Front 242 (by far the most interesting choice, and I think the best cover of the lot), and a few others that are good. It's a good wide selection, done almost universally well, with little beyond her Cello and Voice, occasionally some other production elements get in there. It's good, it's different, which I like.

Adding To The Collection:Gears Gone Wild
Label: Bitriot Records
Released: 2008
Genre: Industrial
OK, I admit I picked this up only because the cover is two Terminator Robots having sex doggy style. And it's Industrial. That's where the good stops. It's a decidedly mediocre collection of various forms of Industrial, from noise to rock. It's truly a twenty-track collection of filler. Only on a couple tracks could I be bothered to care and check who I was listening to. Skip it unless you really want a CD with Terminators having sex on it.

Next week, I'm cutting back on the number of albums, in an attempt to get more in depth into each one I choose from the stack.
Coming Up: Kidney Thieves, 16 Volt, Lemon Drop Kick, Army Of The Universe.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Two weeks worth of music crammed in here due to vacation - also due to vacation is a lack of New Releases. I'm loading up three weeks worth of those for next review before getting back into the regular swing. This week though - 10 albums from all across the board.

Adding To The Collection:

Neko Case & Her Boyfriends - The Virginian
Label: Blood Shot Records
Released: 1999
Genre: Country
This is Neko Case's first full album, and it's not very typical country. Coming right at the start of the 00's alt-country explosion, it's laced with heavy doses of rockabilly and other throw-backs to 1950s country that got close to rock'n'roll and hadn't migrated too far from the blues. The sound isn't as completely polished as later albums, but for a first effort this little number is excellent.

ZZ Top - Recycler
Label: Warner Bros. Records
Released: 1990
Genre: Blues-Rock
Moving onto a similar genre, blues rock trio ZZ Top put this out in 1990 and is last part of the Eliminator-Afterburner-Recycler triology that summed up their 1980s sound. It was a move away from some of the more straight forward blues they built themselves up with in the 70s and by this album had refined itself into an almost straight alt-rock with blues mixed in sound. Nothing particularly fast, or slow. In fact, unless you're more than a casual ZZ Top fan there's not a lot here. It does contain the massive hit My Head's In Mississippi, but the production mix isn't as good as some later remasters, I don't think.

Skream - Skream!
Label: Tempa
Released: 2006
Genre: Dubstep
Not quite early dubstep, but definitely near the front of the pack, and it's not nearly as distortion heavy on the breaks. Low key, kind of down tempo, but still hits the dance floor nice and hard. It could do with a few more really heavy beats and breaks tossed in somewhere in the middle. Still, a nice shift in the dubstep from heavy to mellow.

Overkill - Bloodletting
Label: Metal-Is
Released: 2000
Genre: Thrash Metal
The last album from Overkill's less than stellar 1990s era. They managed to get stuck in a more slowed down metal sound, less thrash and more groove, and this is them stepping back up, but not completely, into a much heavier pure thrash metal sound. Hard to find these days, but still worth it for the die-hard fans that either want to fill in the holes after skipping many albums (like me), or for new fans looking for older material that isn't as pure speed as the stuff released since.

Army Of The Universe - Army Of The Universe
Label: self-released
Released: 2011
Genre: Industrial
Army Of The Universe (AoU) are an Italian industrial-rock act. As much glam as industrial, they put out this mostly remix mini-album on their own. It's a good showcase of how well they remix in talented hands. They sound like they're having a lot of fun, and it's a nice stripped down almost under-produced set of sequences. Can't wait to hear more from these guys going down the road a few years. The bonus is it comes with a video for Lovedead.

Nine Inch Nails - Head Like A Hole EP
Label: TVT Recrods
Released: 1990
Genre: Industrial
Head Like A Hole is one of their really big early on songs that started to get NIN mainstream attention. And just about everybody has had a crack at remixing it as well. And this... is a really generic set of remixes for the title track, Terrible Lie, and Down In It. I picked it up cheap and used and am glad for the fact, the remixes have seriously dated themselves at this point 20 years later, and the whole single comes off as what it is: one of the many (hundreds) of singles put out with too many remixes and not enough substance. Diehard NIN fans will want it, and probably already have it.

Human Factors Lab - Pap3r
Label: self-released
Released: 2008
Genre: Industrial
This is another remix album, and it's from a band that hadn't at the time put out a full album yet to really remix from. There's a lot of remixes on here from a lot of bands (some famous, some not so much). And it shows off that HFL can be remixed into something really good (or in some cases just danceable) the band itself doesn't quite impress me with this release. It needed a few more un-remixed band originals to really make it good. Otherwise, it's just run of the mill industrial dance stuff.

Dropkick Murphy's - The Meanest Of Times
Label: Born & Bred Records
Released: 2007
Genre: Punk
I'm a huge DKM fan, and they're a band that consistently puts out the same sound without putting out the same album. The overall tone of this one is pretty negative, there's a lot of the downside of life here, as opposed to some other releases that emphasize the upside or fighting back. Title appropriate, as it really does take the listener through the meanest of times and situations. And comes out sounding like a great punk-rock record. This is bare-knuckle punk here, and while they don't have as much bagpipes as normal, it doesn't need it. Great album to keep around.

Rough Guide To Sufi Music w/ bonus Sufi Fakirs Of Bengal
Label: World Music Network
Released: 2011
Genre: Sufi
There's something about religious music, done well, that both soothes the soul and energizes the mind and body. And the Sufi music represented here does just that. I don't understand the words, but I understand the ideas they represent, the sounds are familiar and at once, completely different. This is great music just to listen to even if you don't take away the messages being presented. And a double CD of it at that, which is why I really like the Rough Guides. They always deliver and sometimes they deliver above and beyond expectations.

And that's that - all the new additions I listened to over the past two weeks. With that I almost depleted my backlog of albums to load up - not to fear, I reloaded the stack (a good chunk of it with Iggy Pop, I may just do an all Iggy week). Next week I review all the new releases I didn't get to over my vacation. Listen Hard!

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

This week I had a short week to listen as I'm leaving on vacation on Monday and will be on the road for three days, so this post is being written on Sunday. So I didn't quite get as many listens in to the new CDs as I'd like...

New Additions:Tori Amos - Night Of Hunters
Label: Deutsch Grammaphon
Released: 9/20 2011
Genre: Classical
Tori is moderately predictable, most of her albums have a very similar vibe musically. Including this one, which isn't a bad thing, you know what you're in for - some amazing classical piano, though this one is much more classical than previous albums. Up to the point where many songs are reworkings of actual classical pieces. It's all very stripped down, no percussion at all, no guitars and bass, just some strings and wind instruments occasionally accent her piano playing. It's actually a very relaxing album, despite some of the lyrics being the opposite. The opening line is classic Tori "That's not my blood on the floor" .... which really gives the album its life. If you're a Tori Amos fan you'll definitely like this offering, if you're just getting into her this is a good starting point.

Adding To The Collection16 Volt - American Porn Songs // Remixed
Label: Metropolis
Released: 2009
Genre: Industrial
OK, so I wasn't impressed with American Porn Songs, and sometimes the remix albums hold a lot more interesting things going on. Sadly, no. The complete lack-luster of APS carries right over into total boredom here. Somewhere in here is an acoustic cover of one track, but honestly I couldn't be bothered to even look up which one or who did it. I should probably have given this a more thorough listen through, but honestly it kind of bored me the first time through. Only get this if you're a die-hard 16 Volt fan.

The Mission (UK) - Carved In Sand
Label: Mercury
Released: 1990
Genre: Gothic Rock
Like most Gothic Rock coming out of the 80s, this is just as much punk rock and straight rock'n'roll as it is Gothic. Which is how I like it, really. And The Mission never fails to deliver a good album, so when I found this sitting in the used bin at a local record store I immediately picked it up. I don't remember ever getting to hear this one back in the day, but it sounds familiar, that kind of good familiar that brings you back to a good place, hanging out with friends, in a bar or all night diner, knowing there was nothing to do the next day so one am became three before finally shuffling off into the dawn for sleep. And that's what this does for me. It's a good album, I won't say from a better time, but a different time, when things felt simpler musically. Fans of The Mission will immediately love this album and probably already have it in their collection, as 1990 was the year of hanging on the precipice of musical oblivion before the 90s swallowed up so much of the previous three decades.

Rough Guide To African Guitar Legends (with Bonus Syran Mbenza & Ensemble)
Label: World Music Network
Released: 2011
Genre: Guitar, Rock
With a name like African Guitar Legends I'm afraid I set myself up for a little bit of disappointment. I love guitar driven music, especially some good serious blues, rock, country, and roots. And while every band here has an awesome guitar player in it, and are excellent bands, this is not guitar driven work. This is a collection of people who are known for their excellent guitar work, and are out of Africa, but it's not really Guitar Driven. They just happen to be really awesome guitar players, with a backing band. Nothing truly spectacular, just something really good. And thus my disappointment, which was completely a personal expectation I should probably have placed to the side. Because this is some good music, uptempo, and different from what I get in the US. The bonus CD is a tribute to a great guitar legend who passed away, and feels like a good tribute album, but again the guitar work is not stand out, it's seamlessly integrated into a band work. You can hear the solo work behind everything else, and it's very good. In the end it's two CDs of good music, just not guitar focused work.

Bonus CDKMFDM - Live Boston 2011
Label: none
Released: Sept 2011
Genre: Industrial
KMFDM recorded as many shows as possible through their 2011 North American Tour, and released them as digital downloads on the world. Sadly, my city (Denver) was not recorded so while I was at the show I didn't get to take it home with me. Luckily their set was pretty much the same throughout the tour (or exactly the same really), and I randomly picked Boston to download to check out the recording quality. It was an awesome show this year, and the live recordings capture that well. 90 minutes of classic KMFDM, most of the WTF?! album and lots of 2000s era stuff, and a few bits from the 90s, and only Godlike from before that. While I love that they play the new albums nearly in their entirety, I wish they'd select from a wider range of albums, they have over 25 years of experience and I think in a live show only one song from a previous album is needed, especially since they took two from Blitz (one of their weakest albums ever) and two from Tovuvabohu, a track of Xtort, Money, WWIII, or earlier would be neat. Still - good recording, clean and clear, and the crowd noise made it through - which occasionally doesn't happen on soundboard recordings. If you saw the shows, this is an awesome souvenir, if you didn't this is a good way to get it second hand.

Next week, I'm on vacation, actually the next two weeks. So I won't be getting anything new - but I am pre-adding two weeks worth of music to listen to while on vacation. If I can post from the road I will, otherwise the next Audio-Bomb will have a lot of Additions to report, and the week after that will be all the New Stuff I missed out on listening to while away - because I have new CDs on order, I just won't be around to receive them.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

After eight years the new Anthrax album hit the streets. I have to admit, the last half decade as an Anthrax fan has been frustrating. We've Com For You All seemed like the break they needed to push forward, and then apparently ditched to do a reunion tour with Joey and John on board. John left the band, and Joey left after the reunion bit. They got a new singer, that immediately upon recording music was gone again, and Joey came back and re-recorded everything. It's been a mess. While I'm a huge fan of the John Bush years, I have to say that Joey sounds awesome on this album. It's everything you want from Anthrax. The rest of my musical selections this week - while good - aren't quite top notch.

New Releases:Anthrax - Worship Music
Label: Megaforce
Released: 9/13 2011
Genre: Thrash Metal
This is all the best of the early stuff with Joey and the heavy stuff with John rolled into one massive crushing work of pure thrash-metal awesome. Not quite as fast as some of the very early stuff, the group is still in top form and still crushes it out of the park. Joey lost some of the super-high pitched wailing from the 80s, but can still belt it out. This bit of work has launched itself into my top-album tier, nothing on here really misses the mark at all. Though the first couple tracks are a bit of a slow opener compared to the pure monsters on the back end. The Giant and Judas Priest make an awesome pair of songs, In The End I stuck on repeat for a little while, and the first single Fight 'Em 'Til You Can't is a pure thrash powerhouse. They definitely stand back up and demonstrate why Anthrax is one of the Big 4. I'm off to mosh some more.

Adding To the Collection:16 Volt - American Porn Songs
Label: Metropolis
Released: 2009
Genre: Industrial (Industrial Rock)
I like 16 Volt, they make good music. Especially their early stuff. But this, honestly, is a giant album of filler material. It's not bad, but nothing stands out, another CD to put on the stack of Industrial just in case you need to play a whole bunch for a long time. The only piece that caught my attention was Somebody To Hate, probably because it parodies the classic Somebody To Love song. Other than that, they all sound pretty similar, guitar heavy industrial beats. If you're a 16 Volt fan, pick this up, if you're just a general Industrial fan there's other, better material out there.MC 900 Ft Jesus (w/ DJ Zero) - Hell With The Lid Off
Label: Nettwerk / I.R.S. Records
Released: 1989
Genre: Hip-Hop
MC 900 Ft. Jesus generally puts out heavily jazz-influenced eletronica, here his team up with DJ Zero puts out something much more hip-hop ariented. More beats that hit a little harder, lyrics that flow more instead of his normal story-style. It's good work, and different from a lot of the offerings out there. It's good, it's fun, it's not entirely catchy. This album managed to sadly show its age, and not well. It's not particularly complex, nor clever. It just is.

The Rough Guide To Brazilian Cafe w/ Bonus Disc (Vicor Ramil & Marcos Suzano)
Label: World Music Network
Released: 2011
Genre: Latin
Ah, latin music. Fun stuff, this whole collection is light, and airy. It is, as the title implies, perfect for sitting around a cafe and drinking coffee (or tea) to, with friends. It just sits happily in the background keeping the good feelings flowing. I really enjoyed this one, more than I normally like the exploration of the Rough Guides series. The guitar work is excellent, the selection fits well together - more so than others in the series where the selection is more about breadth than a continuous listening experience. The bonus CD of Vitor & Marcos is also excellent. like most bonus discs it's a previously released or soon-to-be released album from the hi-lighted group, in this one the guitar of Vitor's playing stands out. It's just excellent. Of all the Rough Guides I've gotten and reviewed so far, this is one of my favorites.

That's the week in music. Coming up is Tori Amos' new album, some gothic-rock, more idustrial and African Guitar. After that I go on vacation so I may be taking a hiatus, or load up lots of new music and have an extra-large post early in October. Or write from the road... who knows! Listen Hard!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

This week is three new ones from Hank Williams III, and all three in different genres. I have to throw in some very light and happy French Synthpop to overcome it all.

New Releases:Hank III - Attention Deficit Domination
Label: Hank 3 Records
Released: 2011 9/6
Genre: Metal (Speed, Thrash, Hardcore)
First up is a straight forward thrash metal album from Hank III. Nine tracks of shredding licks, double bass-drum pounding, metal. It's also the most boring of the three albums. Not that it's a bad album - it's a pretty good one as far as this kind of metal goes. But, there are other people out there that do thrash-metal better, he isn't quite grinding enough to make death metal, and while it could easily fit, there's better in the hardcore punk scene too. I think, this album was put out too soon, it needed to simmer longer before being finalized so it could pop up from filler to something cool.

Hank III - Cattle Callin'
Label: Hank 3 Records
Released: 2011 9/6
Genre: CattleCore
This is a lot like the previous album - speed and thrash metal. Here though, Hank layered on Auctioneers, and from what I can tell calling out actual auctions too. It's kind of badass, it's a lot of strange. Different, weirdly lulling. It takes some getting used to, that's for sure. Good for throwing a few tracks into a mix just to stir things up, keeping 'em guessing. I can't say I like it the most, but it's absolutely the most interesting.

Hank III - Ghost To A Ghost / Guttertown
Label: Hank 3 Records
Released: 2011 9/6
Genre: Country
The last release from Hank this week is a more straight forward country album, but certainly not the kind of country his father or grandfather would put out. Or even more country musicians today. This one definitely has the marked Hank III sound to it. Heavy in spots, he never really lets go of the metal side of himself. But he adds in some twang, a few ballad sounding pieces. This two-disc release really comes out well, my favorite of the three by a good long lead. With two CDs it actually drags just a little bit, but if you need to kill some time and don't want to change out music, that's what the long albums are for. It's dark, moody, rowdy, and very good.

Adding To The CollectionCelluloide - Passion & Excitements (+ Body Pop Clubmixes)
Label: Boredomproduct
Released: 2009
Genre: Synthpop
Celluloide are a french synthpop band, very light and danceable. I picked up the two-disc limited edition version from a closeout by a stateside distributor clearing space in their warehouse. It comes with a Remix EP. The Remixes take things in a more house/club direction, giving them a heavier beat, or a little more thump. But I like the base album the most, good old fashioned, pretty harmless, but good sounding pop music. Definitely a series of songs to have on hand when you need to put together a playlist that never really slows down.

Alter Ego - Rocker
Label: Skint
Released: 2005
Genre: House
I picked this up as a free digital promotion, it's an 8-track remix EP. As an EP it is extraordinarily boring, to be honest. I've never been too big a fan of Remix EPs that are just the same track taken in a bunch of different directions that still sound a lot alike. Thankfully some of the mixes here really deconstruct the track, but most don't. It's a good wide selection of similar sounding house stuff though, so you can find a place for a track in a good long party mix where you need some bouncy filler.

That was almost a little too much music for one week, I added the Alter Ego album last minute as it was a promo give away I wouldn't otherwise have picked up. Next week is Anthrax (I've waiting so fucking long for this one), some Hip-Hop, Industrial and a Latin mix.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Crawled all over the spectrum this week, good diverse set. A last minute addition of an Electroswing compilation, a Klezmer compilation, took a shot at Skrillex's EP, and a Combichrist album from a couple years back. But, again this week, nothing new at all. Really slow month for new stuff in August. September is going to more than make up for that....

Adding To The Collection:Marc Broude - Medecine
Labek: No Zen Records
Released: 2011
Genre: Ambient
This gem, I picked up along the way when the artist contacted me. My last release from this artist was effectively death metal. This, not so much. Dark ambient, moody. Good headphone music here, as there's some complex things going on with it. But, honestly, nothing extra-ordinary. There isn't quite the depth I'm used to with this kind of headphone ambiance, it almost reaches the likes of Controlled Bleeding's ambient offerings. But falls just ever so slightly short. Less complexity is only part of it, there's a certain emptiness behind it, like you're only catching part of what it wants to be. All that aside, though, it's a good background album, something a little darker than your average ambient offerings, less tinkling bells and more dark atmosphere.

Combichrist - Today We Are All Demons
Label: Out Of Line
Released: 2009
Genre: Industrial/EBM
I don't make a great distinction between Industrial and EBM personally (I'm sure someone out there is annoyed with me...) - but then I don't make a lot of genre distinctions sometimes. This actuallly falls closer to the EBM side of things, but it's got enough heavy bits to be good Industrial. I picked up the bonus 2-CD version of the German release. The second disc is another 8 tracks of songs, some of which seem like incomplete tracks or demos. Honestly, the second disc turns a great club album into something less, not really adding much onto the package. The album itself, though, is excellent. The first six songs alone are beyond awesome, truly pounding anthems for any dance floor. After that things go hit or miss, the EBM roots showing through heavily. Pick up the single disc release of this one.

Skrillex - Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites
Label: Big Beat / Atlantic
Released: 2010
Genre: Dubstep
Like any good pure-dance music this is mostly breaks, beats and bass. Though for an EP is contains seven tracks and only three remixes, which is a good hefty bit of new music for a non-album. The first track is a really good song for a dance mix, has everything you need from the build up intro to a good outro (not faded thankfully). After that the album is a bit generic, nothing really stands out above what's out there. But it does move, and moves well. Good to have around to fill out the set, or night, just to keep things bouncing right along without pausing. It's priced like an EP, which makes it a definite grab.

Electroswing II
Label: Wagram
Released: 2009
Genre: Eletroswing
All the electroswing is still in Europe, and all the best stuff is still put out by French label Wagram. Which makes it a good buy to pick up these compilations if you're in the US. This goes a little more diverse than most compilations on the genre, pulling in some rock influence, some hip-hop influence, a little house appears, and the always present stand-by bands, Nekta, Caravan Palace and Lyre Le Temps. Everything here is good, everything is so completely listenable. Electroswing is all fun, all the time. It's a genre you need to a grab a partner to and just move on the dance floor. It's impossible not to, and this compilation delivers in spades.

Rough Guide To Klezmer
Label: World Music Network
Released: 2000
Genre: Klezmer
Klezmer is a uniquely Jewish style of music, most usually seen at weddings. This Rough Guide goes from the European origins to the US Revival of the genre. Grabbing traditional songs and new ones from recent groups. A lot of Klezmer, to me, would fi right in with a barn-dance set. It has the same kick-up-your-heels dance feel, and good time all around style to it. Other than that, unless you need a disc to keep on hand for a Jewish wedding, this is mostly a really interesting look at another culture. Not an album you put on to listen to just because.

Next week will be a Hank III fest as he releases three new albums all at once. I'll find something else to throw in the mix to balance all that out though....

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

No new physical releases, I did pick up a pretty wicked digital single though. Of the Dubstep variety. Last weeks new release came in, Ana Popovic is a wicked blues singer. A live album from KMFDM, and an Accesory CD+Single round out the listening.

New Releases:
Afghan Headspin - Stand Up
Label: Skint
Released: 8/23 2011
Genre: dubstep
Afghan is a breakbeat and dubstep DJ out of the UK. This four-track single is the track plus a remix, both with instrumental versions. It's a very bouncy, hard, dubstep single. This is a fast track, very good for the dance floor. Fuzzy guitar-like riffs with a great vocal behind it from Stapleton. Definitely one to pick up if you like your dance music a little darker, a lot heavy, and very bouncy.

Ana Popovic - Unconditional
Label: Eclecto Groove Records
Released: 8/16 2011
Genre: Blues
I'd only heard of Ana casually, but I figured it was time to check her out, especially since every other new release for the week was definitely on the Pass list. She's got a seriously good blues voice, not gravelly, a little deeper than most female vocalists, like you want your blues - low and mean. And her guitar playing is top notch, proving that the guitar really is far and beyond one of the best instruments out there. Twelve tracks from slow to fast of perfect modern electric blues come pouring out here, she deserves super-stardom.

Adding To The Collection:
Accessory - Forever & Beyond
Label: Out Of Line
Released: 2005
Genre: EBM
I picked up one of the last Limited Edition 2-disc releases of this, it comes with a 4-track EP that includes a bunch of video as well. The album is a perfect modernization of late 80s/early 90s EBM. This entire album reminds me of Bigod20, early Front 242, Nitzer Ebb, and the like. Nothing overly heavy, the bass doesn't take over, and no guitars to be found - the days before Industrial Rock got a hold of the dance floor. But it isn't stuck back there, it feels and sounds very 2000s despite the throw-back sound. Accessory have figured out the dance floor and unleash a barrage of awesome cuts here. Every DJ needs this in their mix.

KMFDM - WWIII Live 2003
Label: Sanctuary
Released: 2004
Genre: Industrial
This is a live recording from Chicago off the WWIII tour, their second album since reforming with Lucia after the 'breackup' in 1999. Sadly, this is why I don't normally buy Live Albums. I remember this tour, it was epic - with video behind the band and the typical crowd pleasing energy and non-stop music. KMFDM knows what to do at a concert: play, and play hard and never stop. No bullshit crowd interactions, no song introductions, just music - song after song. This though, doesn't translate that energy, fails to capture the experience. Also, Raymond was near the end of his line with KMFMD here and it shows - he's almost off time in some places, and sound terrible through most of it. Sascha sounds like he might have a cold, and Lucia hasn't quite left behind her screaming days from Drill (though that's 4-5 years back by this point). They do play and record almost all the songs off WWIII though - which is nice, and catch a few of the truly awesome classics, though nothing further back than Angst. A good one for the KMFDM collector or fanatic, skip it if you're simply a big fan or less.

Bonus Track:
Bassnectar - Divergent Spectrum Continuous Mix
Label: self-released
Released: August 2011
Genre: dubstep
As part of the pre-order bonus this was sent out, it's a continuous mix of the album. It's a pretty straight interpretation, smoother cross over between 'songs', and some very minor differences. It's pretty cool, but not anything spectacular or anything that those who didn't pre-order are going to miss. It comes as a single hour long track, as well, not split out.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Nothing new this week, sadly. Because my local indie-store (a bunch of them actually) managed to concentrate on a bunch of crap for no reason. I have, finally, exhausted the supply of music given as an anniversary present. That means I can really start into the music I've gotten in the meantime... I had a few surprises in this weeks listening as well. What I thought was a house-mix was actually a really sweet trip-hop bit.

Added To The Collection:Einstürzende Neubauten - End Neu Remixes
Label: Mute
Released: August 1997
Genre: Industrial
This little gem wasn't ever releases in the US to my knowledge, which is too bad. It, unlike most remix albums, is not the norm. It's complete deconstructions of tracks from End Neu. It thankfully doesn't take what are excellently crafted works and simply add thumps behind them. A sublimely minimal remix of NNNAAAMMM is fabulous, it's also the track with the most attention getting three of the ten remixes. A mix of Stella Maris takes it out of it's almost pop-radio original style and makes it much darker. It's all radically different, all off the path. If you liked End Neu, and want to hear some truly different takes on the tracks, this might be a gem worth tracking down.

Nitin Sawhney - London Undersound
Label: Cooking Vinyl (E1 Entertainment in the US)
Released: 2009
Genre: trip-hop, house
Nitin Sawhney is a London DJ, admittedly not just a plain house DJ, but that's what I was expecting from this album, club tracks. What I got was completely different, and amazing. It starts off nice and low key, with a vocal bit from Natty, about chaos in London. A little bit of irony that I listened to this in a week with actual riots in London. The whole album is full of strings, downtempo beats, and vocals that don't overwhelm. It maintains that balance between chill and energy, and doesn't hold to a single style, bringing in bits from India, the London club scene, trip-hop and other elements. This is a good album to just sit down and really listen to.

Buddha-Bar IX, Ravin
Label: George V Records
Released: 2007
Genre: Ambient, House
By this volume of Buddha-Bar they've opened a second bar in London, which is where this collection was recorded from. Again a 2-disc release, the first CD is a more mellow collection of tracks, the second CD picks up a bit. Even throwing in an electro-swing track, and some more club friendly pieces. But still, the whole thing is fairly downtempo, not that it's slow, still danceable. Just not a hard bouncing dance, club friendly for all ages.

The Rough Guide To Bollywood
Label: World Music Network
Released: 2002
Genre: Bollywood (musicals)
This is a collection of classic songs from classic Bollywood movies. While it's kind of interesting, it's exactly like taking a bunch of songs from different musicals and putting 'em all together. India show tunes. And you lose context, especially if you haven't seen the movie. It's nice music, good stuff, definitely vintage, but in the end, it's a random collection of musical pieces that belong in a bigger picture. Also, they were not remastered, you can tell some of the recordings are very old, and possibly recorded on sketchy equipment back in the day. Still, it's a pretty neat collection, nice to have on hand. I'd just throw it into a big old mix for a party night.

Bonus Track
Kim Boekbiner & Amanda Palmer - Such Great Heights & On The Other Side Of The World
Label: self-released
Released: 2011
Genre: Rock
These two tracks are actually free downloads from funding the upcoming vinyl release of them on Kickstarter. The digital versions will be available through Kim's bandcamp. They were recorded while both were on tour in Australia. Neat little acoustic rocks tracks from two pretty cool chicks on the DIY Rock scene.

And that's all - next week: This weeks new release (which had to be ordered online); some (more) Industrial, some dubstep, and some blues. All very exciting. Listen Hard!

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

This weeks new selection is the latest EP from The Birthday Massacre, an older EP from Emilie Autumn, rounding out my gothic-rock selection nicely with both titles. A house compilation from London, and a compilation of a brand new subgenre of house - Moombahton.

Moombahton is, to shorten a lengthy story, what happens when Reggaeton got imported into Europe, spend up and created Dutch House, then exported back out to the US, who slowed it back down to its Reggaeton roots creating a kind of bastard house-dancehall style. Very bass, very danceable, very not what you'd expect from 100bpm.

New Releases:
The Birthday Massacre - Imaginary Monsters
Label: Metropolis Records
Released: 8/9 2011
Genre: Gothic-Rock
Birthday Massacre almost fall outside the calssic Gothic-Rock style, which is closer to punk rock than the industrial of a lot of modern Goth is. Female lead vocals are sharp and not overly shouty without also being overly breathy. Imaginary Monsters continues on with guitar driven, electronic influenced, gothic-rock. A quick 8-track EP with three tracks and 5 remixes. And not the same track over and over, only Shallow Grave appears twice with a Combichrist and Assemblage 23 mix. The first three tracks are a good showcase (I hope) of the upcoming release, because they're great songs. The EP also includes a bonus video of 'In The Dark', always a nice touch.

Adding To The Collection:
Emilie Autumn - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun / Bohemian Rhapsody Double Feature EP
Label: Trisol Music Group
Released: 2008
Genre: Gothic-Rock, Classical
Emilie mixes in liberal doses of non-modern styles with her Gothic-Rock. This little EP, a limited edition (I believe there's a non-limited version missing the bonus track and in standard packaging) number that was a European release only, is nine tracks. Mixing harpsichords, violins, violas, and some modern bits. Bohemian Rhapsody only gets a cover version here, and sadly it lacks a lot of the punch the original had. It sounds good but falls a little flat. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, on the other hand, brings a little more oomph and some new life to an otherwise banal pop-song. The four remixes aren't too bad, mixing up the song a bit, one of them nicely guitar-heavy. There are two live tracks, 'Asleep' and 'Mad Girl' for Emilie fans to enjoy. And the hidden track (though the inserted booklet lists it) is 'Gentlemen Aren't Nice' and is a nice sassy little number. This EP is mostly for collectors/fans of Emilie Autumn, if you're just a casual fan there probably isn't anything here you'd be too excited over.

Blow Your Head Vol2 - Dave Nada Presents Moombahton
Label: Mad Decent
Released: 2011
Genre: Moombahton
As explained, this emerging sub-genre of house and dancehall is a slowed down House style that was originally sped up Reggaeton. Reggaeton was itself a modification of the dancehall that left Jamaica to the surrounding islands. As a result this compilation of songs is bass heavy, beat driven, mixed with latin styles (you can recognize some Cumbia in there), with a dancehall feel, and definitely still modern house music. A lot of tracks feature Spanish, several feature reggae MCs, and more than a couple are just instrumental dance tracks. The whole thing is club friendly, and the bigger the system you have the better it sounds. Should be interesting to see more of this genre emerge and morph in the next couple years. As it is, it's new, a little hard to find, and possibly may just get reabsorbed back into the house-mix.

Sub Club 20 Years Underground
Label: Soma Recordings
Released: 2008
Genre: House
This is a 2CD set, the first disc is DJ Subculture, and the second is Optimo. As the title suggests both DJs go way way back into the London underground and come forward through the years, a really wide range of house comes out. You can feel the evolution. Subculture's disc is a little more laid back, almost mellow, but definitely not shirking its duties as a club-cut set of tracks. It's a little more trance influenced than pure rave. Optimo ups the ante a little, and the beat, and comes across with a few more heavier sounds, but still manages to reach way back with a Front 242 cut 'Take One'. Good mix aside, this is an interesting look at the history of London House and Club culture over a 20 year span. Beyond that little bit of history, it's not actually coherent enough to be a great mix set.

Bonus Tracks:
Army Of The Universe - Resin (+ Remix)
Army Of The Universe is an Italian industrial-rock act, and as they ramped up for a North American tour opening with KMFDM they put out a few tracks to download on their Facebook page. Naturally I grabbed 'em and gave a listen. I like 'em. They've got some good styles, the guitar in it really helps bring it out of the all-electronic production of Industrial, just about anything can be improved with guitar. The remix is from Bobberman, and adds some extra punch to the track, but I like the original a little better. Check out the band, I think any modern Industrial fan will like them.

Next week is all compilations and remixes - sadly the new CD I wanted to check out wasn't available locally and I had to order it, so no New Releases next week.`